Chapter 153: The Jar That Lets You Never Work Again
When we handed the man over to the city guards, it turned out he really was a habitual thief. Apparently, he had been caught several times in the past.
It seemed the Adventurers’ Guild had also issued a request for cooperation, so unintentionally, we had completed that task as well.
We’d probably receive a reward later.
Leaving the guard station behind, I sighed in relief.
“Fuaaah~”
Sena yawned widely, clearly still not fully awake.
“Don’t sleep in a place like that. It’s dangerous,” I scolded.
“I wasn’t planning to sleep! I just… the sound of the fountain made me doze off on my own,” she replied.
Apparently, the soothing murmur of the fountain had become a lullaby for her.
“By the way… what’s with all those bags?” I asked, noticing she was now carrying several sacks that hadn’t been there a few hours ago. The one the thief had tried to steal was just one of them.
“I bought them!”
“Knowing you, it’s probably just a bunch of useless stuff again.”
“That’s not true! Look at this!” she insisted, holding something up.
“What is that?”
It was a small wooden carving of a frog. A decorative trinket, perhaps.
“If you rub the ridges on its back with this stick…”
Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit.
“See? It croaked!”
Sure, it did sound like a frog, but…
“What’s the point of this?” I asked.
“Umm… it’s kind of relaxing?”
…As expected, it was another one of her pointless purchases. But it was her money, so I let it slide.
“Anyway, Shifa and the others want to take their promotion exams. So, adventuring will be on hold for a while.”
“Really? Yay! More sleep, more fun!”
“You can take the B-rank promotion exam too, you know.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, if you want to, you can take the exam.”
“Huh?”
“…The exam.”
“Huh?”
Nope. Absolutely no chance of her paying attention.
“I just hope there’s no written part,” she said.
“In that case, you can take it,” I replied.
“Can’t you just study a little for the written part?”
“Huh?”
She suddenly pretended not to hear me!
“What about you, Onii-chan?” she asked.
“I’m not taking it,” I answered.
“Then come play with me~”
“No, it’s not necessary this time. But eventually, I’ll probably have to take the written part too, so I want to study with you now,” I explained.
“Eh… Onii-chan… you’re crazy…”
“Why would you say that!?”
She looked at me like I was some kind of oddball—but really, who was the one speaking those words?
“Unlike Sena, Gio is serious,” Shifa had said with admiration.
…Of course, I couldn’t admit the real reason: that I just wanted to study with Shifa-san.
Still, given what had happened earlier, I couldn’t just leave Sena wandering the royal capital alone—it would be dangerous in many ways. So, reluctantly, I decided to accompany her.
I was officially her guardian now. Even if she was my sister, we were the same age…
Well, she’d probably tire of playing in no time and just lounge around at home anyway.
The heart of the royal capital was bustling with life.
The crowds rivaled those at the Arcel Festival, and if one wasn’t careful, it was easy to get lost.
…Of course, Sena was the one most likely to vanish.
“Wow, Onii-chan! That looks fun!”
“Ah, that smells so good! Let’s eat it, let’s eat it!”
“Over there’s something going on too!”
She darted off toward street performers, then swerved toward a food stall with its sweet aroma, and then suddenly ran in the direction of a sideshow tent.
She was completely whimsical, like a child chasing every passing curiosity. But that was the least of my worries—she was fast, and I had to sprint just to keep up.
In reality, I had promised Shifa-san that if she passed her promotion exam safely, we would tour—or more accurately, go on a date—in the royal capital together.
So, accompanying my sister was supposed to serve as practice for that…
“This isn’t good for any kind of practice…! Huff… puff…” I gasped, struggling to keep pace.
“Huh? Onii-chan, what’s wrong? You’re all out of breath?” Sena asked cheerfully.
“It’s your fault! Huff… puff…”
Despite running around non-stop, she seemed completely unbothered.
“…Before becoming an adventurer, she used to get winded just walking a little,” I muttered to myself.
My sister, who spent every day lounging around, naturally had below-average stamina. Even trips to the local market would leave her claiming she was exhausted, diving onto the sofa the moment she got home.
“And now look at her… she’s so full of energy. Yeah… becoming an adventurer really was good for her… Sena?”
I was so absorbed in this thought that I suddenly realized she was gone.
“Where did she go…?”
I waded through the crowd, searching for a while, until I heard her cheerful voice coming from a nearby alley.
“Wow! It’s right! How did you know?”
Curious, I approached and saw my sister talking to a strangely dressed woman.
“Hehe, my fortune-telling is amazing, isn’t it?” the woman said.
“Amazing! Amazing!” Sena exclaimed.
“Would you like me to tell you more? Let’s see… do you want to know how to live your whole life without ever working?”
“What!? Yes! I want to know! I really want to know!”
“Then I shall tell your fortune…”
“I’m excited!”
“Ah! I see it! This jar!”
She produced an impressively large jar.
“If you buy this, your luck will soar! Money will come to you, and you’ll be able to live without working!”
“Wow! I just have to buy it!?”
“Yes, just buy it!”
“I’ll buy it! How much!?”
“Normally, it’s very expensive, since it’s such a powerful jar,” the woman explained.
“But I want you to be happy, so just for today, I’ll offer it at a special price… How about five gold coins?”
“Wow! From twenty coins to five! Cheap! Thank you, lady!”
“Hehe, you’re welcome, dear,” the woman said.
“Ah… but I don’t have that much right now… I only have two gold coins…”
“Oh dear. It’s such a good item, it might sell out quickly,” she warned.
“That would be a problem!”
“Well then… as a special case, I’ll allow you to pay in installments. Today, two gold coins will be fine,” she said.
“Really!?”
…There was no doubt in my mind. My sister was getting scammed.
A jar that lets you live without ever working… what kind of nonsense was that?